The smell of freshly pressed beans laid thick in the air as the coffee shop door swung shut behind me. Across the sun-drenched room, my friend waved a cheerful hello, and I walked over, pulling out a chair. We ordered coffee and made small talk while we waited. Moments later, steaming mugs were placed carefully down along with sweeteners and cream. We talked, stirred, and settled back in that way that coffee and good company beckons you to do.
She asked how my week was going. I smiled brightly, nodded my head, and offered the typical response to this kind of question, “Good. Things have been busy, but good. And you?” I quickly tilted the conversation back in her direction. She talked of her children’s antics at school, and her plans for Fall. She asked about my kids, and I too relayed some of their recent milestones and funny moments. We had a good visit. We enjoyed each other’s company. We left knowing we’ll pull up these chairs again in the not too distant future.
But here is what we didn’t do.
We didn’t divulge that the days at home with our children, now that we are no longer working, can feel unbearably long and lonely. We didn’t discuss the new and unnerving distance growing within our marriage that’s creating a chasm we aren’t sure how to cross. We didn’t say that raising our children to be kind souls is brutally hard some days because, if we’re honest, we aren’t always kind ourselves. We didn’t say that sitting in the nursing home with our loved one, watching her drift away to a place we can’t reach, is one of the most heart-wrenching things we’ve ever endured.
[Please click the link below to read the full article over on Her View From Home]
